


The Room Where It Happened

by Justmeherandthemoon



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arguing, Crying Harry, Crying Louis, Divorce, Face Slapping, Heartbreak, I Blame Tumblr, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, My First AO3 Post, One Shot, One-Sided Relationship, Sad Harry, Sad Louis, Short One Shot, What Have I Done, this is a little thingy im just gonna post
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 08:12:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6649579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justmeherandthemoon/pseuds/Justmeherandthemoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Harry cheats and regrets it, and Louis gives up and cries.</p>
<p>(Sorry.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Room Where It Happened

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to Hamilton the Musical for the Title!
> 
> Shouldn't be triggering because this is a little baby I've been holding for a while, so yeah :)
> 
> Enjoy! Constructed criticism welcome!!

“But I can’t just leave you. Not after everything.”

He turned away. Walking over to the kitchen, Louis placed one hand on the cool, marble counter, and released the breath he forgot he was holding. “I don’t know what you plan to do otherwise.”

“We can start over. I’ve learned my lesson now and I won't take this for granted anymore. I promise.”

Louis’ feet were cold, he could sense the tingling bite of the freshly waxed oak wood floors nipping at his toes, sending a chill up his spine. He folded his arms against his chest in a weak attempt to keep what is left of his heart from breaking.

His sobs came out suddenly, it sliced through the silent tension in the room like a freshly sharpened knife, cutting any ties to the man in front of Louis. He didn’t know Harry anymore. The droplets falling to the ground and splattering were the only thing he saw, his vision blurry with memories and emotions. It felt like everything was against him at this point. Thoughts and images clouding inside his brain, whirling around so fast it had made his knees wobble with the pain of it all. Remembering all of the residual happiness from years of naivety and love struck infatuation that withered away as reality sunk into their lives.

He should have known. After all, those past few years it seemed like all of Louis’ conversations were one sided, a reeking smell of disinterest and boredom rotting between the lines of their seemingly forced conversations. Harry’s work hours longer; working on Saturdays, coming home at midnight, two am, three. He should have known.

“After twelve years of you breaking promises and me forgiving you, you managed to break the only promise that truly mattered. How do you live with yourself? If it isn’t enough for you to live with your own husband, how do you expect to live with yourself? I have sacrificed everything. My job, my hometown, my friends, my family, and apparently, now my marriage. I am done giving myself away.” Louis paused to take a breath before raising his voice, anger coursing through his blood. “I think I’ve just been fooling myself this entire time haven’t I? Thinking that I am actually happy, when I know you won’t ever be enough, you won’t ever be deserving of me, you won’t thank me for everything I’ve tolerated and fucking put up with to keep this marriage alive.”

“You don’t have to do this, I can change. I promise,” Harry choked out.

Louis tightened his fists against his sides and abruptly twisted around and slapped Harry across the cheek, the tender skin blooming like a rose garden. “You have had four years to prove to me you can change. I have given you time, I have given you love, but you don’t seem to get it do you? I don’t want you to fucking change! I want you to feel you can be yourself around me, not some photoshopped and slimmed down version that is so clean cut, it has no meaning. I want your rough edges and I want your flaws, but you don’t want me. That’s why I have to go.”

“ I can’t imagine life without you,” his voice quivered, taking a shallow, shaking breath before dusting his long fingers over the stinging skin, “and I know I don’t deserve anything from you anymore, but just because I slept with someone doesn’t mean- I don’t love you. Fuck, I love you so much it hurts, and I don’t deserve you, I don’t think I ever have. But please, trust me this one last time. Please.”

Louis closed his eyes. “I haven't trusted you for a long time. I- I think this,” he weakly moved his arm, motioning between them before it fell helplessly to his side, “this… us, it needs to stop. It's been too stressful for too long. Painful for me, at least. At least you had sex from strangers to ease your pain.”

He shuffled around to face away from Harry and raked his hands through his hair. It's too much. Everything feels like it's trying to suffocate him, closing in on him, circling around their marriage like vultures waiting for their prey before swooping down and taking the remains.

As Louis walked away from his husband, he could hear the muffled cries filling the room, reverberating off the walls, bouncing around him. It stunk of regret, love lost. He could taste the salty bitterness of tears falling down his cheeks, stumbling over the smooth, tanned skin and onto his chapped lips, where his tongue had quickly swiped them away into his dry mouth.

This wasn’t supposed to be how his life should have gone. “I can contact a lawyer. I think you should do the same. In the meantime, I’m going back home to my parents house and I will pack up my belongings here tonight. I’ll send you the divorce papers in a few weeks.”

He quickly walked passed a sobbing Harry, and into the bedroom that they rarely shared now. Slowly, he sat on the made bed, the beige comforter wrinkling under the weight of his petite figure. He looked around and closed his eyes, almost absorbing all of the good and bad memories from this room. The fights, the exhaustion, the late night talks where everything seemed so genuine and true. The manipulation, the laughter, the tears. The good morning kisses, the good night hugs, the love they had, being replaced by distrust, hesitancy, suspicion.

How was he supposed to pack up and move twenty three years of marriage?

Louis didn’t. He left that night with his wallet, his car keys, and a broken heart that was headed home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Constructed criticism welcome!!


End file.
